CasePRO, a case management system provider, is looking to bring affordable processing technology to the market. It believes that regardless of size, mortgage brokers, packagers and lenders need to put technology at the heart of their businesses.

CasePRO says its research indicates that up to 50% of mortgage brokerages still rely on manual record keeping in one form or other and that many others have yet to introduce an end to end solution, which is less reliant on human intervention, instead still relying on mismatched or outdated spreadsheet software programs.

Chris Waite, managing director of CasePRO, said: “The administrative burden on all financial services businesses continues to grow. The cost of compliance alone in terms of time and effort to stay ahead of the need for accurate and available reporting, makes it imperative that every business, whether mortgage or investment based, should be looking to automate its administrative processes. The time when manual file keeping was sufficient is past. The demand on businesses to free up time for new business acquisition as well as ensuring that service levels are maintained and records are instantly available for compliance scrutiny means that all businesses should be investing in a technology answer.”

He added: “The main barrier is the perception that the cost will be prohibitive and yet in reality the cost for a bespoke system set up to the specifications of the individual business is actually very low and that is without factoring in the savings in terms of man hours saved not having to do everything manually.”

Evaluate Technologies has launched a capacity management functionality for lenders in order to help manage resources, avoid product withdrawal issues and reduce timeframes for re-launching product ranges.

Julie Gaskin, national accounts director at Evaluate Technologies, said: “Capacity and data management, including a tranche facility, have been integral components in the Evaluate proposition for some time now but we are delighted to be able to take this to the next level.

“Effective capacity management is required to give lenders and their distribution partners the control they need to be successful in the current climate. This involves much more than just offering a tranche management facility, it must include accurate, real-time forecasting of future volumes and improved product data management functionality to speed up the launch of new ranges. Our new functionality provides lenders with everything they need to manage their capacity proactively.”

Pete Thomson, sales and marketing director at Orbiter Group, said: “Advisers are used to being able to source mortgages and secured loans, but to be able to compare them to each other is something we are sure is going to prove hugely popular with advisers in the current market. This is yet another example of a benefit Orbiter can offer the market as a result of being built using the most up to date technology available.”

Wayne Lee, from north-west based broker Alpha Money, said: “Mortgages have been incredibly difficult to obtain for many clients after the turmoil in the mortgage market, and this had led to secured loans becoming an increasingly popular option. An online facility that enables mortgages and secured loans to be directly compared is a really useful feature of the Orbiter system and something that can be used very effectively in face to face discussions with clients.”

This is the latest in a series of announcements from Orbiter including its ability to offer tranche management facilities to lenders and compliance monitoring to networks. Orbiter has also announced it will include the option for advisers to include non-intermediary products when sourcing deals for clients.

Trigold has announced six new dates for their intermediary Business Academy events which offer advisors free training on expanding their sales skills and enhancing sales of a range of insurance products.

Events are divided between London and Manchester and will be hosted in the Lowry building in Manchester and the Commonwealth Club in London.

The programme has been designed to support brokers in a range of areas and sessions include sales skills including profitable time and priority management communication skills and how to prepare for the perfect meeting.

A separate session helps advisors develop skills to maximise sales by turning existing customers into supportive clients. Advisors will also learn how to use the power of mass marketing to develop their client base and generate more referred leads and learn about business strategy and putting marketing in practice.

Theresa Clements, director of training at Trigold, says: “The Trigold Business Academy has been very well received by advisers and so we’re delighted to announce these dates which make up the autumn event schedule.

“Business management and sales skills are vital for a compliant, customer-focused & profitable business so each event consists of a balance of up-to-date presentations on business and industry topics.”

Using Norwich Union’s ‘Simplified Life’ quote system, advisors will be able to access indicative quick quotes for life insurance that will be automatically displayed when entering client information. Trigold offers a ‘unique’ system whereby quotes can be generated offline. The system also offers the ability to link into the insurance quotation systems of all other major insurance providers.

A cost planner facility displays a list and total of all mortgage and insurance product payments on the case, and insurance illustrations and mortgage KFIs can now be saved together in Prospector AAA.

Martin Colyer, managing director of Trigold, said: “With seven-out-of 10 mortgage advisors operating in the market relying on Trigold these improvements to Prospector AAA will help advisors generate new business through a much-valued additional income stream. The current economic climate means that advisors need to look at other ways in which they can generate income and insurance looks set to be a growth area over the next few months as clients look to policies that will help them if their circumstances change.

“The development of Prospector AAA will also help advisors bring the client’s insurance needs into the process early on in the application process rather than near to completion when it can be too late to help with any insurance requirements that the client may have.”

Orbiter Group has claimed a positive response from the intermediary market following its recent announcement that its new online sourcing and compliance service will give brokers the ability to source from a range of prime and specialist products that can either include or omit non-intermediary products.

Pete Thomson, sales and marketing director at Orbiter Group, said: “Orbiter is committed to offering choice to the advisers who use our system and in the current market we feel it is essential to enable our intermediary customers to source products that are available direct from lenders. We received a number of supportive phone calls and emails as a result of our recent press release and it is clear our strategy has been warmly received within the market.”

Jason Berry, head of sales at Platform, said: “Orbiter clearly has a forward thinking business strategy. The decision to list direct products in the current environment is a bold statement of their intent to focus on the future direction of the mortgage market. We enjoy a close relationship with Orbiter and look forward to working with them in the coming weeks and months as their offering continues to gather pace.”

Phillip Evans, managing director of Sheffield-based mortgage broker Enable Finance, added: “To have access to a sourcing system that allows me to source direct to consumer products and make money from them, is an attractive proposition and one that I’m very interested in. I believe there is an opportunity to charge a client an upfront fee for advice and to be very clear that my advice may in fact be to apply direct to a lender.”

Target Group has secured a contract to manage information systems for LV=. The three-year deal will see the Cardiff-based software and processes provider take control of the data management of LV=’s existing loan operation.

Target will manage the infrastructure that LV= uses for processing, account management, arrears management, and securitisation.

LV= and Target have worked together since 1990, with Target providing a fully managed service from March 2008.

Lisa Mundy, head of personal loans at LV=, said: “Target is able to provide a focused delivery proposition that reflects their broad understanding of our business and operating environment.

“Target is able to provide LV= with resilient systems, high quality service support, within an appropriate cost model. During our partnership with Target, we can expect to receive the benefits of an up-to-date system, running on a supported platform, as well as further system development as we require.”

James Snow, Target Group strategy director, said: “I am delighted that LV= has agreed to continue and extend our fruitful working partnership. We believe that this relationship will continue to grow and strengthen, and we look forward to working with LV= in the years to come.”